To complement the duties placed upon contractors under the previous Construction Regulations, the New Construction Regulations include some additional duties to be discharged by contractors in certain circumstances:

• prior to performing any construction work, a contractor must open and keep on site a health and safety file which will include all documentation required by the regulations;
• a risk assessment review must now be conducted as soon as an incident occurs;
• any falsework, formwork, support work, scaffold, shoring or other temporary structures are now referred to as "temporary works". A contractor is required to appoint a "temporary works" designer in writing to design, inspect and approve the erected temporary works on site before use. No person may cast concrete on a temporary works until authorisation is given, in writing, by a competent person. No contractor may use a temporary works design and drawing for any works other than its intended purpose;
• no contractor may use rope access work, unless the equipment complies with the safety regulations. If rope access work is used, the contractor must be in possession of a site-specific fall protection plan. A rope access supervisor must be appointed, in writing, with the duty of supervising all rope access work on the site;
• bulk mixing plants must be supervised by a competent person appointed, in writing. This supervisor must be aware of all the dangers involved in the operation thereof and be conversant with the precautionary measures to be taken in the interests of health and safety. There are a number of safety requirements in relation to bulk mixing plants which have been set out in the New Construction Regulations;
• explosive actuated fastening devices are specifically contemplated in the New Construction Regulations and a number of additional obligations have been placed on contractors using this equipment These regulations include aspects such as the provision of personal protective equipment and training;
• cranes and the operation thereof (including tower cranes) are now addressed in both the Driven Machinery Regulations and the New Construction Regulations;
• electrical installations and machinery on construction sites are also addressed in the New Construction Regulations in addition to the obligations contained in the Electrical Installation Regulations; and
• with regard to employee's facilities, a contractor must provide at least one sanitary facility for every 30 workers per gender. This may require that more facilities have to be provided due to the inclusion of the wording "each sex" and not merely "for every 30 workers".

To access our previous snapshot regarding the New Construction Regulations, click here.

This Snapshot was written by Kate Collier.